The National Fitness Day campaign for 2023 reached a total audience of 88.5 million people, helping to inspire healthier lives across the UK and beyond.<\/p>\n
Powered by ukactive\u2019s members and partners, National Fitness Day 2023 took place on Wednesday 20 September, under the theme \u2018Your Health is for Life\u2019, with free activities hosted by gyms, swimming pools, leisure centres, sports clubs, studios, schools, workplaces, and online providers.<\/p>\n
Results published today (3 November) by ukactive and reviewed by Savanta* show that in the UK, an estimated 10.2 million people** were directly motivated to participate in an activity on the day itself, while many more were encouraged to be active throughout the campaign by further events and communications.<\/p>\n
The global media reach of the campaign, measured by Vuelio, shows an audience of 57.2 million \u00ad\u2013 up from 48.7 million in 2022 \u2013 following extensive press coverage.<\/p>\n
Among hundreds of examples of national and regional stories, the BBC\u2019s Sports Editor, Dan Roan, explored the UK\u2019s physical inactivity crisis<\/a>, and the Daily Mail\u2019s Science Editor, Victoria Allen, reported on ukactive\u2019s polling<\/a> which showed mental health, for the first time, as the biggest motivation for Brits to exercise.<\/p>\n Social media plays a major role in driving the campaign, and this year saw a total global reach of 31.3 million people engaged across the major platforms.<\/p>\n People of all ages and abilities were inspired to share their personal experiences and health stories on Instagram, X and Facebook, as well as celebrities such as Joe Wicks and Carol Vorderman, who also showed their love and support for the day.<\/p>\n The campaign was elevated by three major new partners for National Fitness Day: men\u2019s mental health charity, Movember, sports reward platform, Endurance Zone, and sports nutrition business, Optimum Nutrition.<\/p>\n Each partner brought unique expertise and helped to drive important messaging around the benefits of physical activity as part of a healthier, happier life \u2013 from sleep and nutrition to exercise routines and social connections.<\/p>\n This year also saw the launch of the first Fitness Day Rewards app, delivered by Endurance Zone, which offers prizes and discounts as incentives for being more active. The app can still be downloaded for both Apple<\/a> ac Android<\/a> users until February 2024.<\/p>\n The campaign culminated with thousands of activities being held across the UK on 20 September, beginning with the National Fitness Day kick-off event, which for the first time was held in Manchester, hosted by GM Active in partnership with ukactive.<\/p>\n The event saw participants from the Prehab4Cancer programme join a morning of group workouts at Salford Sports Village and share their own stories, providing a powerful example of the essential benefits of physical activity and underlining the campaign\u2019s theme, \u2018Your Health is for Life\u2019.<\/p>\n Dywedodd Huw Edwards, prif swyddog gweithredol ukactive,<\/strong>: \u201cIt\u2019s clear National Fitness Day is a much-loved campaign which helps inspire people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to try something new, start their health journey, or simply recapture the joy of movement.<\/p>\n \u201cHuge credit should go to our campaign partners, our sector partners and most importantly, all of ukactive\u2019s members that celebrated the campaign and hosted free events and activities to support more people to be active.<\/p>\n \u201cAs well as the fun it brought, National Fitness Day 2023 carried a serious message that your health is for life, and we will continue to champion the importance of physical activity for our nation\u2019s health and wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n David Birch, CEO and Founder of Endurance Zone, said:<\/strong> “We are thrilled\u00a0to have played\u00a0our part in National Fitness Day with the resounding success of the Fitness Day Rewards app. Many thousands of exercise minutes have been tracked\u00a0so far, with over 80% of users who connected\u00a0a fitness a tracker earning points, redeeming rewards, and entering competitions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe entire team at Endurance Zone is delighted\u00a0to have helped\u00a0motivate so many individuals to exercise nationwide.\u201d<\/p>\n Laura Hoggins, from Optimum Nutrition, said<\/strong>: \u201cNational Fitness Day is always a great way to build awareness and excitement around exercise and movement, and we are proud to support ukactive on this important initiative to get more people moving, more often.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe nutrition plays an essential role in the health and wellness of our communities, and we were proud to have our Optimum Nutrition coaches involved, to give tips and education on how to fuel and recover for your goals.\u201d<\/p>\n Tess Kennedy, Partnerships Manager \u2013 New Business at Movember, said: <\/strong>\u201cHere at Movember, National Fitness Day was the ideal day to get the message across to our core community that it\u2019s important to look after your health, both physically and mentally. Working with ukactive meant we were able to shine a light on how looking after yourself can be both hugely rewarding and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n *Savanta surveyed 2,044 adults aged 18+ between 22 September and 24 September 2023. Data was weighted to be nationally representative of UK adults aged 18+ by key demographics including age, gender, region and socio-economic grade. Savanta is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full data tables are available at\u00a0<\/em> http:\/\/www.savanta.com\/<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n **Extrapolated data from the Savanta polling shows 10,150,420 people participated in an event or activity on National Fitness Day 2023. This compares to approximately 11.67 million people 2022.<\/em><\/p>\n